Springfield Republican: Minimum wage will rise to $12 an hour in Massachusetts on Jan. 1

The minimum wage in Massachusetts will increase to $12 an hour on Jan. 1. ... Gov. Charlie Baker in June signed the so-called “grand bargain,” a bill prompted by several proposed ballot questions that will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, phase out Sunday premium pay, establish a paid family and medical leave program and implement a permanent sales tax holiday one weekend a year. ...

Some business owners say they welcome the change. Dan Rosenberg, the founder of Real Pickles Cooperative in Greenfield, currently pays an entry level salary of $13 an hour, which he hopes to raise to $15 by mid-2020. The organic food manufacturing business buys vegetables from local farms, makes fermented dishes like pickles and sauerkraut, then sells them wholesale.

Rosenberg said he believes people should be paid enough to live on, and he is trying to do that as it becomes financially feasible. “People need to be paid a living wage and benefits for their work, and I think it’s important to have the push from government to make it happen because it clearly doesn’t always happen on a voluntary basis,” Rosenberg said.